Davie, with its western-themed buildings and the most open, public space of any Broward municipality, has two Town Council seats up for grabs.

Notwithstanding the miles of horse-riding trails, the town is about to take a giant leap toward concentrating more people and activity near its downtown center.

A 200-bed teaching hospital — a joint venture between Nova Southeastern University and Hospital Corporation of America — is now under construction near the southwest corner of Interstate 95 and University Drive, near the planned downtown.

Future plans on that 300-acre parcel include a high-tech research park, a medical office building, a 300-room hotel, shops, restaurants and 800 urban-style apartments.

District 2

Douglas Spencer is challenging incumbent Caryl Hattan, a retired school teacher, for District 2’s seat on the Town Council.

They both want to represent District 2, which is defined roughly by South University Drive to the east, Pine Island Road and Orange Drive to the southwest, along with the town’s borders.

Spencer, 55, could not be reached for comment and did not appear for a candidate interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board. He got his name on a ballot by getting at least 1 percent of the voters in his district to sign a petition. The number he proved to the town with his forms goes to Broward Firearms Training, which became inactive in 2010, the year after it was incorporated.

Hattan, 71, who has served on the Town Council since 2010, is looking for a fourth term and has only seen her rival once, recalling a meeting on the street when they were both out canvassing for votes.

“He shook my hand and told me I was doing a great job,” she said.

She said she’s hoping to see downtown with attractions to draw people such as an ice cream parlor and art shows.

“The plans for our downtown are very exiting and I look forward to its completion,” she said.

District 3

J. Scott Bayne, 39, and Susan Starkey, 63, are vying to represent District 3, roughly defined by Hiatus Road to the west and South Pine Island Road to the east.

Bayne, a Fort Lauderdale fire captain, said he and Starkey, who bills herself as a full-time councilwoman, are friends. But he disagrees with her initial vote against requiring the town to pick up Hurricane Irma debris in private communities and on private roads.

“They shouldn’t have the extra burden,” Bayne said. “I would not be supportive of separating our communities by the services the town provides.”

Starkey, first elected to the Town Council 17 years ago, says she voted against the private road pick-up three days after the storm because there was no back-up material about how much it would cost or how much the federal government could reimburse Davie. She voted for the private road pick-up at the next meeting.

“It was unanimous,” she said, of the vote for town vehicles to pick up trash everywhere.